In 1991 The Big Issue launched its pioneering ‘a hand up, not a hand out’ ethos: a business solution to a social problem was born, and has now enabled thousands of people to achieve life-enhancing steps forward in their journeys away from poverty and social exclusion.

If you’ve missed a copy of our award-winning magazine, you can still catch up with back issues of our iconic and bestselling editions. From Street Cat Bob to Doctor Who, the Dalai Lama to Pope Francis, our George Michael memorial special and Joe Wicks’ guide to life. There are copies of our exclusive special editions including the Charming Baker-curated ‘Tipping Point’ art special with contributions from Sir Peter Blake, Cornelia Parker, Jake and Dinos Chapman, plus many more. There is our Armando Iannucci-guest edited issue, with our infamous Malcolm Tucker and Alan Partridge Brexit showdown. And there are copies of our collectors’ edition Ben Eine-designed CELEBRATE issue, marking 200 million copies of the magazine sold.

Our selection of books helps to develop and inspire. Our growing range includes Marina Cantacuzino’s The Forgiveness Project: Stories for a Vengeful Age, with forewords by Desmond Tutu and Alexander McCall Smith, and Big Issue vendor-turned-Harley Street addiction specialist Mark Dempster’s The Ongoing Path. We have informative and entertaining titles by Big Issue founder John Bird, including The 10 Keys to Success and Dickens, the Socially Mobile Cat. And there’s your chance to get arty on The Big Issue’s iconic covers yourself with The Big Issue Colouring Book!